Kilgore Leads Tackle Warehouse Invitational Tournament at Lewis Smith

CULLMAN, Ala. (April 15, 2025) – Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals tournament at Lewis Smith Lake went as planned. Plenty of fish being caught, but top-end size was tough to come by. With most of the field packed tight, ounces will decide who gets checks, points and a chance at a win.

Still, Jasper, Alabama pro David Kilgore separated himself in a big way on Day 1, sacking up 18 pounds, 11 ounces for the lead – which is a lot of weight most times of year at Smith, and especially now with so many postspawn fish in the mix.

In second, pro Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Oregon, scrapped up 15-12, and Joseph Webster and Emil Wagner are tied for third with 15-2. We’ll see what happens on Day 2, but it already looks like a tough road for some of the anglers who caught their fish mostly with forward-facing sonar on Day 1 – Killgore and Webster were not reliant on the tech early and figure to have a great chance to stay steady the rest of the way.

Competitors will conclude the two-day opening round on Wednesday, with only the top 30 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advancing to Championship Thursday. The three-day tournament features pro anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September.

A longtime local on Smith, Kilgore’s start with such a strong weight could set him up very well, though he knows as well as anyone that Smith is a tough place to be consistent. Today, after a slow start, he packed on the pounds in the latter half of the morning.
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“I'm a little disappointed in myself,” Kilgore said. “I thought I had a spot that was a lot better than it was. Then I wasted a couple of hours this morning. Eventually, I said, ‘I gotta move.’

“I moved and it wasn't fast and furious; I could catch little keepers no problem, but every now and then, I would catch a decent fish. It was just a numbers game, pretty much, so I'll try to do it again tomorrow.”

Weighing all largemouth on Day 1, Kilgore plans to run the same program on Day 2, but he’s got an intriguing herring spawn game plan for the final day.

“I’ve got a couple more areas I didn’t need to go to today,” he said. “And I've got a spot, way up – as in, get gas on the water – that's a herring spot that’s loaded. So, hopefully if I can get through tomorrow in good position, I'll abandon ship and go fish for the herring fish the last day.”

“The last few years here, we've done very good this time of year,” he said. “I've kind of got the herring gig figured out, and then I've kind of got the largemouth coming off bed gig figured out. So, it's perfect time of year for me. I’m excited.”

The top 20 pros after Day 1 on Lewis Smith Lake are:

1st:        David Kilgore, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 18-11
2nd:       Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 15-12
3rd:       Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 15-2
3rd:       Joseph Webster, Hamilton, Ala., five bass, 15-12
5th:        Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 14-15
6th:        Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 14-10
7th:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 14-5
8th:        Ryan Armstrong, Robinson, Ill., five bass, 14-3
8th:        Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., five bass, 14-3
10th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 14-2
11th:     Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 14-0
12th:     Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 13-15
13th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 13-13
13th:     Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., five bass, 13-13
15th:     Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., five bass, 13-12
16th:     Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 13-9
16th:     Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., five bass, 13-9
18th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 13-6
19th:     Cody Petit, Arundel, Maine, five bass, 13-5
20th:     Charles Abshire, Lake Charles, La., five bass, 13-4
20th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 13-4
20th:     Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., five bass, 13-4

Pro Keith Poche earned Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field compete in the two-day opening round on Tuesday and Wednesday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Thursday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational tournament at Lewis Smith Lake is determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.